Using the License Server

Info

This article refers to the use of the License Server as a SaaS solution. If you are interested in the License Server on-premise, please refer to the following chapters:

There is no need to activate the License Server or to install Cartridges in it. Instead, each user has a Wallet in which the associated resources (Cartridges) are saved. The Wallet is referenced via a Wallet ID, that the user will receive when the first Cartridge is purchased. (Cartridges can be purchased from those partners where also regular pdfToolbox Licenses are available.)

The URL for License Server is

licenseserver.callassoftware.com

Using the License Server

It is straightforward to use License Server on command line or in the SDK.

The parameter to reference a License Server needs to specify the URL of License Server and an additional parameter "lsmessage" needs to specify the Wallet ID.

Example

./pdfToolbox --licenseserver=licenseserver.callassoftware.com --lsmessage=<Wallet ID> sample.kfpx sample.pdf -o=output.pdf

Monitoring the License Server

In order to monitor what Cartridges are available for a Wallet ID and what Cartridges are currently in use the License Server webinterface can be used:

https://licenseserver.callassoftware.com

The Wallet identifier is then to be entered into the input field to display the information for that Wallet. 

For automated monitoring purposes it is also possible to receive the monitoring data in a .json format. 

The following example uses the curl command. This will return a list of all cartridges and a list of all current sessions.

Example

curl -XGET https://licenseserver.callassoftware.com/status.json -H "content-type: application/json" -H "X-Wallet-ID: <the wallet ID>"
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Network requirements

IP addresses

For high availability, the License Server SaaS is deployed behind an AWS Network Load Balancer (NLB) with dynamic DNS, which can route connections to different License Server nodes.
The following three IP addresses must be reachable for outbound traffic (at least on port 1400) from your environment:

  • 18.185.168.191
  • 18.196.197.252
  • 3.72.138.9

Ports

  • 443 (HTTPS): Optional. This port is only used to query the state of your license wallet or monitoring (e.g. via the web interface) and is not required for the actual licensing process.
  • 1400 (TCP) : Mandatory. This is the port used by pdfToolbox to perform license checks against the License Server SaaS.

HTTP/HTTPS Proxys

  • On port 443 (HTTPS), an SSL‑inspection / TLS‑re‑signing proxy can be used if desired. This does not affect licensing itself, as 443 is not used for license requests.
  • On port 1400 (licensing), SSL inspection / TLS re‑signing can not be used. The licensing protocol requires an end‑to‑end connection from pdfToolbox to the License Server SaaS without interception or certificate substitution.

In practice this means:

  • An HTTP/HTTPS proxy cannot be effectively used.
  • Licensing failures are most likely caused by missing or blocked connectivity on port 1400 to the IP addresses above. They are definitely not related to traffic on the HTTPS Port 443.
  • Ensure that outbound TCP connections on port 1400 to the three IP addresses listed above are allowed.
  • Ensure that your corporate proxy or security stack does not  intercept or re‑sign traffic on port 1400; the connection must be passed through transparently.